Thanks to the sweet, fat raisins stirred into every bite of these cookies’ thick, oaty chewiness, I’ve convinced myself that these oatmeal raisin cookies are healthy. (Shhh.) For some reason, I’m always tempted to keep them in the oven longer—don’t fall for it. They’re best when they’re good and chewy, barely starting to crisp on the outside.–Stacy Adimando

LC Kissing Cousins Note

Crisp on the edges, chewy in the center, and cinnamony through and through, these oatmeal raisin cookies could be kissing cousins to the classic Quaker recipe. And, in fact, they contain almost exactly the same ingredients. Still, we find these oatmeal raisin cookies to be perceptibly different from the classic. In a good, albeit sorta indefinable, way. That doesn’t mean you can’t have your own way with them, notes author Stacy Adimando. So go on, create your own riff by swapping countless less-expected stir-ins for those predictably healthful raisins, whether dried cherries, chocolate-covered raisins, toasted almonds, toffee bits, dark chocolate chunks, cranberries, chopped soft caramels, chopped chocolate-covered peanut butter cups…uh, we could blather on and on, though frankly, we’d rather hear ’bout what you choose to toss in your cookie batter.

Directions

2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix a bit more.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a second bowl. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and run the mixer on low just until combined. Stir in the oats and raisins with a spoon. The dough may seem stiff and dry, but that’s okay.

4. Scoop out tablespoon-size balls of dough onto the sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking. (If you, like me, prefer your oatmeal raisin cookies on the chewy, gooey side of things, whisk them out of the oven at 12 minutes.) Let cool on a wire rack, if you can muster that sort of restraint, and enjoy.

Recipe Testers Reviews

Company coming over last-minute, a cold rainfall on a Saturday afternoon, a tough day at work—all perfect reasons to whip up a batch of homemade cookies. (Not like you even need a reason.) Honestly, nothing hits the spot better or satisfies a craving like ooey, gooey homemade cookies. This recipe fits that need perfectly—it’s quick, uses pantry ingredients, and is adaptable to whatever your tastes may be. The original recipe is great, but I tried a few new combinations; in particular, salted peanuts with caramel bits was a true winner. To make sure these are at their best, only cook for 12 minutes, and be sure to rotate halfway through. I think if you like your cookies a bit gooey, you could even get away with cooking them for 11 minutes. The batter feels really dry when you first mix in the oatmeal, but don’t worry—with a few powerful stirs it comes together and the final product isn’t dry at all. Finally, make sure you use good cinnamon; with only a 1/2 teaspoon, you need something really high quality to have the flavor come through.

This was a great straightforward recipe that works as written. Chewy inside and crisp on the edges, the cookies have a nice contrasting texture. They’re not overly sweet but still have a complex flavor from the combination of brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins, while the oats lend heartiness.

Yes, there are a million recipes for oatmeal cookies out there but this one is simple and it works exactly as written, while still giving you the freedom to try some great suggestions for add-ons. No special ingredients, simple directions, and I also liked that it made exactly the number of cookies promised. I agree with Stacy—these feel healthy! A couple of hints about the recipe: it may seem like you won’t have enough batter to yield the promised number of cookies, but you will; just be patient and make sure it’s well mixed and all the raisins and oatmeal are coated. Baking times were perfect: 12 minutes with a rotation halfway through as directed. If you have a convection oven, either don’t use it or reduce the time to keep the cookies moist and chewy. Try some of the suggested add-ons: I made 2 batches, 1 as written and the other using 1/3 cup of golden raisins, 1/3 cup of dried cherries, and about 1/4 cup of sweetened flaked coconut. They were great!

How often do cookie recipes look effortless? This one really is. It didn’t take long at all to get all the ingredients together. Even if I were low on baking ingredients, I could probably manage these cookies. Whether eaten warm or cold the cookies have a crisp bottom with a chewy center. The scent of cinnamon is delightful. The flavor is sweet enough but not overpowering. What I really enjoyed was the rich butter flavor. The raisins completed the cookie, giving them great balance. It’s a good thing this recipe only makes 2 dozen; it’s insurance against sitting down and demolishing twice as many at one time. These cookies are fantastic.

This was a solid and tasty oatmeal cookie recipe. The cinnamon was a particularly nice addition to an otherwise standard recipe. I don’t like raisins, but my family and friends do, so I made half as written and half replacing the raisins with chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Both versions received positive reviews. The cookies with the dried cranberries looked particularly festive for the holidays.

This is a no-frills recipe that yields some very tasty cookies with an admirable raisin-to-surface area ratio. They’re wonderfully soft and chewy, not too sweet, and incredibly oaty, as they should be. I ended up making half the recipe with raisins and the other half with chocolate chunks, and both worked really well. A great recipe if you’re looking for something easy and quick to make, or just want to eat a cookie that has enough wholesome ingredients that it won’t invoke lingering feelings of guilt…until you eat 3 or 4 of them.

I was a little worried when the batter was so thick. (I don’t bake cookies often since my daughter is a great cookie baker.) I shouldn’t have worried since these turned out great. I heard lots of mmms when my tasters got loose on them. Mine baked up perfectly crisp but also a little chewy in 14 minutes. I didn’t try any of the optional mix-ins but might next time. I used golden raisins since that’s what I had on hand. I ended up with 20 cookies using a small ice-cream scoop. I usually have all these ingredients so there’s no excuse not to whip them up again when hubby has a craving.

This recipe has a bit more vanilla and raisins than my go-to recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies and I thought it produced cookies with a warmer, rounder flavor. I took my cookies out after 12 minutes of baking and they were just right: slightly soft and chewy in the center and caramel-y around the edge. A good and reliable recipe that never goes out of style!

Right before making this recipe I tried two other oatmeal raisin cookie recipes. Both were good, but one was a little more cakey than I wanted and the other was a little bland. When I saw this recipe I hesitated to try it, wondering if maybe I’m just not an oatmeal raisin kind of girl. I’m so glad I pressed on—these are what I’ve been looking for: great flavor, crisp on the edges, chewy center…wonderful. I didn’t even have to wait to chill the dough; they still came out perfect. My only issue was that the recipe only made 22 cookies, so make sure you double or triple this one so you’ve enough to share.

This is the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie—chewy on the inside and wrapped in a slightly crisp outside. There’s just the right amount of cinnamon added. Tried 2 variations: 1 with just raisins and another with dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips. While I don’t think using cranberries and chocolate would alter the texture of the cookie, I did leave the cranberry/chocolate dough out on the counter a little longer, which made for a flatter, more crisp cookie. Thus, if you like your cookies with a chewy center, refrigerate the remaining dough while baking the initial batch. These were delicious—better than most if not all oatmeal cookie recipes!

I love really good homemade cookies. These happen to be great. I make these cookies more often than any other recipe in my arsenal. There are other recipes that I try, some of which I may put into the rotation, but these cookies I make again and again. They’re very easy to make, which makes them a bit dangerous, especially if you don’t have much in the way of self-control. The first time I made them, I divided the dough into portions, and added different “add-ins” to each section— raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chunks, walnuts, and slivered almonds that I’d toasted in a cast iron pan. I really recommend this kind of research. The hands-down winner for us was the dried cranberry and toasted slivered almond combination. After experimenting with amounts, I settled on a generous ½ cup toasted almonds and about 1/3 cup dried cranberries. I baked the cookies with the rack in the center of the oven for 7 minutes, rotated the sheet pan 180°, and then baked for another 6 to 7 minutes. The cookies were still soft at that point, but they did firm as they cooled. Also, instead of baking all the cookies at once, I take tablespoon-size portions of the dough, roll them into balls, and place them on a sheet pan, which I then put in the freezer. After the balls of dough are frozen, I wrap them in 6-cookie portions, seal them in a bag with the baking instructions, and vacuum seal the bag. Voila. Instant homemade crisp, chewy, yummy oatmeal cookies, whenever you need—or just want—them.

And until you taste these, Abbe! Give them a whirl. They really are something special. (Although if you’re anything at all like me, you’ll, um, omit the cinnamon and swap chunked chocolate for raisins. But do as you will.) Kindly let us know what you think…

Well, that’s innovative, Martha. I like the way you’re thinking! Although to agree would imply that I liked raisins in baked goods, which I personally do not, although I fully appreciate that many folks do….

Just went wobbly in the knees at the notion of caramel in these cookies, Kate. Minus the raisins, natch. I’ve actually also made these sans raisins or cinnamon but with walnuts and chunks of chocolate. And I’m tempted to do a sort of muesli version of them with chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, cashews, and dried figs. I’ll trade my testing notes if you trade yours….

I justify baking oatmeal cookies (my recipe is identical) more often than other types of cookie because I’ve convinced myself that they are okay as breakfast food, too. Well, except that I soak my raisins in hot rum or brandy while I put the batter together. I guess I can consider that, when necessary, as a little “hair of the dog,” right?

I love chocolate, but I will pass over a chocolate chip cookie to eat an oatmeal cookie with raisins anytime. This recipe is a version of mine and along with the cinnamon I also add cloves, ginger and nutmeg. I also like the ideas of additions….Raisinets or muesli.

i used oatmeal flour (made by processing quick oats in a food processor until it is a fine flour) instead of all purpose flour due to gluten intolerance. Just as delicious. I did not use any gums or other binding agents. That was the only substitution. Taste is awesome. Let them cool longer so that they stick together better after baking! Enjoy! I did!

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